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Monday, March 18, 2013

Beyond the Catechist's Toolbox

Beyond the Catechist’s Toolbox by Joe Paprocki

Reviewed by Gilles Côté

In a previous
book published in 2005 (The Catholic Toolbox) Joe Paprocki provided tools and
tips to help catechists in their teaching task. This new publication builds upon that
foundation but focuses upon a deeper level of the catechetical experience by
proposing a step-by-step demonstration of how to make a catechetical session
not only informative, but one that helps students “encounter the risen Christ
in their midst, transforming their minds and hearts so that they live as true
disciples.” He suggests an approach founded on the principle that catechists are
not simply teachers of a subject but facilitators of an encounter with a living
God. He points out that while textbooks are important tools in a catechetical
setting, what is more essential and vital is creating a prayerful setting in
which this encounter can take place. This little book describes a five-step
approach to creating a prayerful environment in a 75 minutes catechetical
session.

As a catechist
with over 20 years of experience, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Joe’s book. To
illustrate his points he often describes real situations that he or other
catechists have encountered while teaching. He is always very aware of what
goes on in a real catechetical setting. The strategies and resources he
suggests are always very concrete and practical. Joe obviously not only knows
how to reach his students and help them see how God touches their lives; he
also knows catechists and can definitely help them become better catechists.